Tyron Woodley entered the Garden on Saturday night the welterweight champion, a winner in five of his last six bouts, having lost just three times in 19 trips in the octagon. And yet, Woodley was the underdog against Stephen Thompson, just as he was the underdog in his previous fight against Robbie Lawlor at UFC 201 in July, a fight he won just 2:12 into the opening round.

And Woodley wouldn’t expect anything less in his first title defense.

“I like being the underdog,” he said. “I think my last five or six fights I’ve been the underdog, and I’ve only lost one. In general, statistically showing, I do well as the underdog. You don’t fight fights on paper.”

He’s far from a fan favorite, frequently booed, in part because he attempted to side-step Thompson in favor of big-money fights against Nick Diaz or Georges St-Pierre.

It wasn’t merely a lack of respect that led to Woodley, known as “The Chosen One,” being picked to lose his belt. Thompson entered riding a seven-fight win streak, having defeated former champ Johny Hendricks and Rory MacDonald. He’s considered one of the best strikers in mixed martial arts, having entered the sport with a perfect kickboxing record (57-0). But Woodley felt prepared.

“Dong Hyun Kim introduced some new threats with judo and spinning attacks, and Carlos Condit throws so many things, so I’m used to preparing for very specific opponents,” he said. “I just have to be patient because this guy can be frustrating at times, but all of my frustrations have happened in practice. I think when I go out there, I’m going to be really confident, and I think I’m going to do well.”

Woodley, a two-time all-American wrestler at the University of Missouri, has talked frequently about wanting to go on a long run as a world champion, not only for the fame and the money that comes along with it but because it puts him in a position to inspire others. Woodley views himself as a role model for up-and-coming fighters.

“It means the world to me because I didn’t really have an influence, didn’t have people that were in the sport of MMA to mentor me when I first started,” Woodley said. “Rashad Evans is a guy that I knew from wrestling, he got into it, and then me and ‘DC’ [Daniel Cormier] started. We had our first fight on television together. … He jumped out quicker than I did and grabbed gold a little faster. It means a lot because I think that’s what we should do as athletes. We should use the publicity in a positive way to try to impact and try to uplift and give kids hope, so that’s one of my main goals in MMA.”